Manufacture of spiral springs.



30. 716,682. Patented Dec. 23,1902. F. n. DANIELS & c. $.MABSHALL. MANUFACTURE OF SPlBAL SPRINGS.

(Application filed May 6, 1902.) (No Model.) V 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

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. Patented Dec. 23, 1902. F. H. DANIELS & c. s. MARSHALL. MANUFACTURE OF SPIRAL SPMNGS.

(Application filed May 6, 1802.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. H6582. Patented Dec. 23,1992.

F. H. DANIELS ,& C. 8. MARSHALL.

MANUFACTURE OF SPIRAL SPRINGS.

(Application filed. May 8, 1902.]

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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' UNITED STATES TVATENT OFFICE.

FRED H. DANIELS AND CLINTON S. MARSHALL, OF WORCESTER, MASSA- CHUSETTS.

MANUFACTURE OF SPIRAL SPRINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,682, dated December 2 1902- Application filed May 6, 1902. Serial lie-106,202. (No model.l

To all whom it puny concern.-

Be it known that we, FRED H. DANIELS and CLINTON S. MARsnALL, citizens of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusettahave invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Spiral Springs; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to the manufacture of spirally-coiled compression-springs in accordance with the method illustrated, described, and claimed in our application filed February 10, 1902, Serial No. 93,446. According to this method the coils are wound spirally with the helices or convolutions closed, and while the metal is still hot the springs are put into special machines which separate and open up the coils, after which they are transferred to the hardening and tempering baths and, if desired, are subsequently japann'ed. The present invention is one of several machines that have been devised for the purpose of efiecting this opening up of the coils.

The construction and operation willbe best understood in connection with the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the gearing for operating the rolls. Fig. 2 is a similar viewsof the parts that are driven by this gearing, including the rolls. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the entire machine; and Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations, respectively, of the coil before the convolutions have been separated and the completed spring after separation of the convolutions.

Referring first to Fig. 2, a is a verticallyoperating plunger having a piston 17 at its lower end working in a hydraulic cylinder 0, that is set in a pit d. At its upper end this plunger carries a disk-like head e, forming a bed or table upon which the coils (they are not springs until the convolutionsare opened) to be treated are set up endwise' and by which theyare supported during the opening-up 5:: operation. The head (2 rests upon a spring f,

which in turn is supported on a collar g, fixed on the plunger some little distance below the upper end, the object of this arrangement being to provide a yielding support for the coils. Located, preferably, though not necessarily, at equal radii from, but diiferent radial angles (about one hundred and twenty degrees) around this spring-so pport as a center and advisably at equal distances apart are three stands h, 1 and j, the first two mentioued-viz., h and t-carryiug shafts k and Z, respectively, in vertical bearings, and the last mentioned, j, having a sleeve m, that is mounted to slide but not to rotate in horizontal bearings and is made adjustable by means of a worm n on the sleeve working in the threaded hub 0 of a hand-wheel p, which is rotatably mounted, but is prevented from.

sidewise movement by the bearings for the sleeve. The shafts 7c and Z have splines or feathers g on that part above the upper hearing, and these splined portions of the shafts carry rolls 7', that are free to slide up and down on the shafts, but are compelled by the splines to rotate with them. Below the rolls both shafts are provided with nuts 8, that limit the downward movement of the rolls, and these nuts are made adjustable by screwing onto threaded portions t of the shafts just above the upper bearings. The shafts are also provided above the rolls with springs a, that encircle them and react between the tops of the rolls and'caps c, that are secured to the shafts by nuts screwing ontheir upper ends, so as to hold the rolls down on the nuts. The sleeve m of the standj-carries a loose spindle 10, that is free to rock in it, but cannot move endwise indep'endentlyof the sleeve. At its outer end the spindlehas secured to it a yoke 93, between the arms of which a roll'y rotates freely on a pin a, fixed in the ends of the arms. The roll y is similar to the rolls of the vertical shafts k and Z. As will be seen on reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, all three of these rolls r Kr and y are pro vided with V-shaped annularflanges 0, that are located about centrally of the rolls or at least so as to leave plain surfaces a on the rolls above and below them. These flanges are,in effect, wedges and serve to separate and Fig. 3.

spread the convolutions of the coils apart when inserted between them, as will be more fully described later on. e

The shafts 70 and Z, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, are provided near their lower ends with gears b, and these gears mesh with the gear a on the shaft cl of the power-stand illustrated in plan in Fig. 3 and in elevation in Fig. 1. The shaft d has a bevel-gear e at its upper end and is driven bya bevel-pinion f on the inner end of a drive-shaft g, which is journaled in horizontal hearings in the power-stand. The shaft 9 is driven by a large belt-wheel h or any other suitable means and is provided with a clutch t" for locking and releasing the wheel, the clutch being controlled by a hand-lever j". The roll y of the yoke is not rotated except by the coil; but the rollsrr of the shafts is and land the shafts themselves are positively driven by the means already described.

Such being the construction of our improved machine we will now describe the operation. The coil comes to the machine in the form shown in Fig. 4 with its convolutions or helices closed together and its ends squared, as shown. It is set up on end on the support e, the plunger a having been lowered for the purpose and the yoke at having been adjusted so as to withdraw the roll y and open the triangular space inclosed by the three rolls. The coil being in position, the hand-wheel p is turned to advance the roll y until the wedge-shaped fin a enters below the uppermost convolutions 25 of the coil, and the fins on the rolls r enter the same space at points around the circle of the coil about one hundred and twenty degrees apart, as shown in In order to adjust the rolls 1" as described, they must be set at different elevations a little lower than the roll y, and this is permitted by the nuts screwing on the threaded portions t of the shafts 7t and Z. The coils being in position and the parts adjusted, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the main drive-shaft is thrown into operation and the vertical shafts 7c and l are rotated. This causes the coil to rotate slowly by reason of the friction of the rolls 1', due to the pressure of the convolution upon the fin a and the pressure of the outside surface of the convolutions upon the plane parts of the rolls immediately above and below the fin. As the coil revolves the roll of the yoke 00 turns freely withit, and the plunger is gradually elevated to lift the coil commensurate with the natural elevation that would be due to the travel of the Wedge-shaped fins spirally around the coil, following the spaces between the convolutions. When the coil has revolved and risen till the wedges have traversed spirally. the whole length except the end convolution 30, the rotation of the shafts 7c and l is discontinued, the yoke 00 and roll y are backed off, and the plunger being lowered to the starting position the coil is removed and a nother put in its place. The coil is then a complete open coil compression spring, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and is transferred to the hardening and tempering baths.

It will of course be obvious that the degree of separation of the coils is dependent on the thickness of the wedges a and the rolls all being easily removable this is regulated by using rolls with wedges adapted to the particular character of spring desired.

It is not necessary to push the coil up by means of the plunger with any great degree of force, but rather to follow it up, keeping all the while sufficient pressure on it to hold it straight and relieve the rolls, as far as possible, of the additional work of lifting it. If desired to still further insure the maintenance of thelower part of the coil in a straight condition, a sheet-metal guard e may be secured to the stand it in form and position to partly inclose the coil and prevent its accidental displacement from the support 2.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. In amachine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a plurality of rolls, one of said rolls having a wedge-shaped flange for insertion between the coils, and means for revolving one or more of the rolls and thereby rotating the spring and causing the wedge-shaped flange to follow the spaces between the coils.

2. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a plurality of rolls, one of said rolls having a wedge-shaped flange for insertion between the coils, means for rotating the springs and causing the flange to travelaround the spaces between the coils, and means for simultaneously advancing the spring in the direction of the axes of the rolls.

3. In a machine forseparating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a plurality of rolls radially arranged around a central point and having wedge shaped flanges for insertion between the coils, means'for withdrawing one of the rolls to permit the insertion of the spring in the space between it and the other rolls, means for ad vancing the roll to inclose the spring in the central space between the rolls, and means for rotating the spring and causing the rollflanges to traverse the spiral space between the coils.

4. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a support on which the spring is set endwise, a plurality of rolls located at different angles around a circle of which the springsupport is the center, said rolls having wedgeshaped flanges for insertion between the coils, means for withdrawing one of the rolls to permit the spring to be adjusted in position on the support, means for advancing the roll to inclose the spring in the intermediate space between it and the others, and means for rotating the spring and causing the rollflanges to traverse the space between the coils.

5. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the'combination of a central support on which the spring is set endwise, vertical shafts It and Zarranged radially around the support, rolls rslidingly mounted on said shafts and having wedgeshaped flanges a a roll y located opposite the shafts 7c and Z, said roll '3 also having a wedge-shaped flange, and means for adj usting the position of the rolls on the shafts k and Z.

6. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a central support on which the spring is set end wise, vertical shafts k and Z arranged radially around the support, adj usting-nuts s on the shafts k and Z, rolls r carried by said shafts and supported on said nuts, said rolls having Wedge-shaped flanges a and a roll y having asimilar flange and located opposite the shafts it and Z.

7. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of a central support on which the spring is set endwise, vertical shafts it and Z arranged radially around the support, adjustable nuts on the shafts k and 1, rolls r connected to the shafts by splines or feathers and supported- 8. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of the shafts is, Z carrying rolls '1" with wedge-shaped flanges to enter the spaces between the coils, the yoke :13 carrying the flanged roll y, the spindle w on which the yoke is carried, the sleeve m inclosing the spindle and having the worm or thread a, and the adj usting-Wheelp having a threaded hub working on the sleeve.

9. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination'of the shafts k, I carrying rolls 7* with wedge-shaped flanges to enter the spaces between the coils, the yoke :21 carrying the flanged roll y, the plunger ahaving the head 6 forming a support for the spring, means for rotating the spring, and means for simultaneously raising the plunger and the springsupport, the support being arranged in the center of the space inclosed by the rolls '1' and y, and these rolls being arranged radially around said support.

16. In a machine for separating and opening up the coils of spiral springs, the combination of the shafts is, Z carrying rolls o with wedge-shaped flanges to enter the spaces between the coils, the roll y having a similar flange the plunger at having an elasticallysupported head 6 forming a table for the spring to sit endwise on, means for rotating the shafts k and Z, and a hydraulic cylinder 0 and piston for raising the spring-support concurrently with the rotation of the shaft is.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

FRED H. DANIELS. CLINTON S. MARSHALL.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. Monsn, J AMES W. SMITH. 

